Unruly Spheres
Entangled within the Earth’s five natural spheres—the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, and atmosphere—is a sixth: the technosphere. Identified by geologist Peter K. Haff as an emerging paradigm of the Anthropocene, the technosphere is the material expression of industrial production, development, and extraction. It includes feedlots and sewer systems, factories and housing, seaports and data centers, highways and croplands. Although critical to many aspects of our survival, the exponential growth of the technosphere is actively destabilizing the five spheres upon which its existence depends. The Sixth Sphere exhibition explores not only how the built environment operates at a planetary scale, but also how design can participate in systems of interdependence, reciprocity, and transition. In response to the environmental and social injustices caused by climate change, this exhibition explores how design thinking can expand beyond traditional spatial and temporal scales to approach the terrestrial in scope and complexity. Through speculative designs, images, and models, The Sixth Sphere positions the technosphere as a collective site to reconstruct our social, technical, and climate futures.
Brittany Utting is an assistant professor of architecture at Rice University and cofounder of the design and research collaborative HOME-OFFICE.
Contributors
(AB)NORMAL, aldayjover architecture and landscape, Alexandra Arènes, Andrés Jaque / OFFPOLINN + Miguel Mesa del Castillo, Debbie Chen, Common Accounts, DESIGN EARTH, Dogma, GRANDEZA STUDIO, HOME-OFFICE, Olalekan Jeyifous, Studio Muoto, NEMESTUDIO, Present Future, Curtis Roth, TAKK, Territorial Agency, Z4A Architects
Graphic Design
Studio Lin
Exhibitions at Rice
As a curatorial program of the Rice School of Architecture, Exhibitions at Rice uses the lens of design research to look at the world differently. Mobilizing a full spectrum of architectural representation—including drawing, imaging, making, and prototyping—this program weaves together scholarly inquiry, visual experimentation, and public engagement. Across all scales, from objects to buildings, cities, and the planet, Exhibitions at Rice engages the discipline of architecture as a cultural practice with a civic mandate, creating new discourses for both local and global audiences.
This exhibition is generously supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts and the Rice University Office of Research. The Sixth Sphere is the first installation of the new curatorial program of the Rice School of Architecture: Exhibitions at Rice.